


He's your kid too.

by queta_94



Category: The Walking Dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-08
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-04-25 12:02:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4959850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queta_94/pseuds/queta_94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carl accidentally calls Michonne 'mom'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He's your kid too.

An eerie calm had settled over Alexandria. The power struggle between Rick and Deanna ceased. Everything seemed to be returning to normal. Rick wasn’t able to completely settle though. He knew that the Wolves could attack at any moment. They were a threat that he couldn’t eliminate. He tried his best to pretend that he was fine. Most people fell for that charade; most people except for Michonne who managed to see right through him like always. He knew though that she felt the same. It was almost too calm for them.

Rick felt like he was on the verge of real happiness despite his worries. He had his children and Michonne close and the rest of his family were settling in well. Maggie was pregnant and Sasha was healing. He was thankful for all of the good things around him. Jessie was starting to feel more comfortable around his family. He knew that part of the awkwardness was that he killed her husband, that made complete sense to him, but he didn’t regret doing it. He protected her and her children. That’s what he did for people; he protected them. She and Sam spent a good amount of time at his house. Ron refused to go anywhere near him, he understood that too. Jessie was a good person. Rick liked having her around. She reminded him of Lori a bit, which he’ll admit, at first was a bit overwhelming however it’s not an issue anymore. Michonne seemed to get along with her well too, which heavily influenced his decision to befriend Jessie.

Every time part of the family came back from a run, Carol would make dinner for the whole family. Michonne wanted to invite Jessie and Sam. They were thrilled at the invitation. Michonne decided to help with dinner this time. She was excited to have extra guests to show off her cooking skills that she apparently had, but no one had ever experienced. It made Rick happy to see that she had a friend. He wouldn’t have expected any relationship to form between Michonne and Jessie, but that’s exactly what happened. Michonne was very helpful to Jessie after Pete died. She helped out with the housework and with the kids. They grew close during that time.

The day of the dinner Daryl had returned home after a very successful supply run. Rick was at home with Jessie, Sam, Michonne, and Judith. Carol was off waiting for Daryl. Michonne was sitting on the floor playing with Judith and Sam. Jessie and Rick sat at the kitchen table watching them.

Jessie had a huge smile plastered on her face while watching Michonne and the kids play, “She’s so good with them. Do you think she ever had one of her own? She’s a natural mother, that’s for sure.”

Rick thought about it for a moment. She had never mentioned a child, but with the way she was with Judith and Carl, he wouldn’t be at all surprised if she had one, “Actually, I don’t know. She’s never mentioned a child, but like you said, she’s a natural, so maybe.”

“I hope she didn’t.”

Rick shot her a confused look. She was an excellent mother to his children, so it seemed an odd thing to say.

Jessie seemed to read his face completely, “I meant that I hope she didn’t have one because they aren’t here now. If she had one then they are most likely dead. No one deserves to lose a child. I could never wish that on anyone, especially her.”

Rick nodded. He had felt what it was like to lose a child, though in his case he only thought he lost her.

“Children are such blessing, especially in this world. I’m thankful I still have mine. That’s all I need really. If my children are alive and well then I could care less about my own life.”

                            
“I agree”, Rick paused, “but our children need us as much as we need them. They need protection and someone to depend on. We need them for hope and a reason to live. We might need each other for different things, but we need each other. I’ve almost lost my children too many times”.

“I don’t know how you all survived out there. I don’t think I would’ve made it. Pete was weak deep down so –“

Carl burst into the house, a bag of comic books in hand and excitement written on his face, “Hey! Mom, dad, look at what Daryl brought back! He said he found them in an old house. They’re Spiderman comics. They look so cool, anyway, I get to read them first then, mom, you can read them”.

Rick was stunned as he looked at Carl. An equally stunned Michonne also looked at Carl. Carl quickly realized what he had said. He had called her mom. He thought of her that way, but he never meant to say it.

“Um, sorry, Michonne can read them after me. When’s dinner?”

The room fell into an awkward silence as it seemed neither Rick nor Michonne could speak. Jessie figured she should probably speak up or the poor boy would never get an answer.

“Probably in a couple hours. When Carol gets home, she and Michonne will get started or finish up I guess. Michonne started some of it yesterday, I thought.”

“Oh, okay, well that’s cool. What are they making?”, Carl asked awkwardly. He tried to pretend Michonne and his dad weren’t in the room and that he didn’t just call his sort-of-mom “mom”.

“It’s a Brazilian dish. Michonne said it was like a stew. I can’t remember what it’s called, but –“

“Feijoada. It’s called Feijoada. You’ll like it. It’s not quite the real thing, but its close. That’s what the pork in the fridge, that I told you not to eat, is for”, Michonne quietly replied as Judith latched herself onto a dreadlock. 

“Okay, well I’m gonna go read. Call me when it’s ready.”

After Carl’s departure the room stayed in its awkward state. Jessie wasn’t sure what to do. Michonne was playing with the kids again, but in the focused way different from how she was before. It was like she was avoiding any contact. Rick was staring at his hands, moving his wedding ring around his finger. Thankfully Carol came home soon after. Michonne gave Judith to Rick and went to help with dinner. The baby quickly dissolved all of the awkwardness at the table.

~

During dinner Michonne was unusually quiet. Everyone was eager to talk to her to tell her how good her dinner was. Carol decided that Michonne should cook with her more often. Everyone was impressed and Rick thought that she would be happy about it. She smiled at the compliments, but it wasn’t a convincing smile. He figured he needed to talk to her about what happened. He wasn’t sure why it was bothering her so much. He figured that after the talk with her he should probably talk with Carl. The subject would probably depend on how the talk with Michonne went. Michonne rarely had issues that he could see. He was the one always having problems and she was the one always having to have “talks” with him about his problems. This was a nice change, but he hated seeing her like this.

Michonne offered to do dishes. Rick knew it was an escape attempt. She wasn’t able to get to them until everyone had gone home for the evening. She tried to get to them after dessert, but Daryl wasn’t about to let her get out of a poker game, which then turned into multiple different games. She was a good sport and humored him. She was relieved when everyone went back to their respective homes or rooms. Carol offered to help clean up, but Michonne sent her home. Daryl was back after all and Carol deserved some extra time alone with him.

Rick stood in the doorway of the kitchen while Michonne was cleaning. He knew that she knew that he was there, but she said nothing.

“Hey.”

“Hey”, she looked up at him and smiled then quickly went back to her work.

“Dinner was great, by the way. Everyone loved it. You really are a woman of a great many talents.”

She laughed softly, “Yeah, I guess I am. I kick ass, I cook, I clean, I take care of kids, I take care of grow men who can’t keep their hormones in check”, she shot him a smile, “and I even can make the Grimes boys smile. Sometimes that’s hard to do.”

“All very true”, he said. He stepped into the kitchen and leaned up against the counter, “So, about what Carl said, well more what he called you, I’m sorry if that bothered you. You’ve been a mother to him, so I have no doubt he thinks of you that way. If you want I can talk to him and make sure it doesn’t happen again. He would never mean to hurt you or upset you.”

Michonne turned around and leaned up against the counter opposite Rick.

“Rick, he didn’t upset me. He just took me by surprise,” she paused a moment, taking a deep breath, “I had a son before all of this.” She looked up at Rick trying to gauge his reaction. He didn’t seem surprised. He just looked sad.

“I kind of figured that. You have always been so good with my kids, but in a way only a mother would be. Is… is that why it was hard for you to be around Judith at first?”

“Yeah, that’s why. Andre, my son, was 3 when he died. He wasn’t much older than Judith really. He was so small and I don’t know why, but Judith reminded me of him. After he died, I felt like I had died. Nothing mattered. I was a shell of a person until I found Andrea. When I found Andrea I had two walkers on chains with their arms and jaws cut off. One was my boyfriend, Mike, who was Andre’s father and the other was Mike’s friend. I felt like I needed to punish myself for Andre’s death by keeping those responsible with me.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Rick stepped forward and pulled Michonne into a hug. She was surprised by the action, but didn’t resist.

“Thank you,” she murmured, “And Rick,” she pulled her head back so she could look at him, “I don’t mind if Carl calls me ‘mom’ as long as you’re okay with it. As far as I’m concerned he’s my kid. That will never change.”

“As far as I’m concerned he’s your kid too, and so is Judith. Did I ever tell you that Judith might not be mine and probably isn’t?”

Michonne stepped back and leaned up against the counter again. She was surprised. She never expected that Judith wouldn’t be his. She had his fire.

“My best friend, Shane, got Lori and Carl to relative safety. He protected them. I was in a coma at the start, but you know that, anyway, Shane and Lori started something shortly before I found them.”

“Were you ever mad about that? I think I would be mad.”

“At first maybe, but not anymore. I wasn’t mad for long. I don’t blame her. She and Shane felt something for each other, and you can’t help that, can you? Lori thought I was dead and so did Shane. Honestly, the fact that I’m standing here right now is a damn miracle.”

Michonne stepped closer again, rested her head on Rick’s chest, and wrapped her arms around him. He let her settle against him. He was never openly affectionate. He was always kind of awkward with that sort of thing, but this was good.

“That makes sense I guess,” she sighed. She was getting tired and was all too comfortable to stay the way she was, “Mike got high and our camp got attacked. Andre was killed in that attack and Mike was too high to know what was going on. I will never forgive him for that. I can’t.”

“And you never should. No father should be so careless.”

“He was a good dad, just not for this world. He was too weak. I’m thankful sometimes that Andre didn’t survive that long. He doesn’t have to be hungry, tired, and scared all the time. He’s safe, wherever he is.”

  
“That is very true. Carl got shot in the chest. Hershel saved him, but Lori said that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Carl didn’t survive. I couldn’t see how that could possibly be true, but now I do. He would have been saved from a lot of pain and suffering. I’m eternally grateful that he survived of course, but I can see how Lori could think of his possible death that way.”

“mhmm,” Michonne nodded her head against his chest and yawned.  It had been a long day. Rick figured this conversation was over and Michonne would soon be asleep.

“You need to go to bed. I’ll finish cleaning up.”

Michonne stepped away from Rick. He pulled her in a little closer to kiss her forehead. She smiled and kissed his cheek in return.

“ ‘Night Rick,” she said as she turned to make her way upstairs.

“Goodnight, Michonne.”


End file.
